The Yueya was as fine as silk, as new as could be.
This place seemed to have a subtly exquisite, invisible barrier that gentled the boisterous wind from Dian Lake. It wasn’t hot during the day, nor cold at night. Listening to the rustling of the bamboo unknowingly calmed one’s mind.
Hong Ran casually plucked a bamboo leaf and asked Zhou Li, "Can you still play it?"
"I never really learned how, okay?"
"I’ve forgotten too." Hong Ran tried to blow on it but could only produce short, sharp sounds.
"Let me fumble around with it a bit. I’m sure I’ll remember soon."
In the Bamboo Courtyard, just the two of them sat facing each other at a stone table. There wasn’t much on it—only some fruit and tea.
Hong Ran began her attempts.
Sometimes she blew; sometimes she inhaled. The sounds were halting, but at least they were crisp.
Hong Ran’s playing hadn’t necessarily been good in the past either, Zhou Li mused. It was just that he was young back then and thought it was impressive. Thinking about it now, it was still impressive—she held a high position among the Demons, yet she’d had so much patience to accompany a lonely child. She was clearly an adult, yet she would go to great lengths to learn how to play with children, mastering so many games in such a short time.
Zhou Li rested his chin on the stone table. "What was that business today about?"
"Which one? Oh, that." Hong Ran blew on the bamboo leaf again before setting it down. "There’s nothing I can do about that one. Over the long years, some Demons inevitably stray onto the wrong path. He maliciously killed other innocents. We value life immensely, so our tolerance for such acts is very low... This sister isn’t a murderer, you know."
"Have you been troubled by these things recently?"
"So you *are* worried about your big sister! Nope, I have to pinch your cheeks for that. Come here, come here..."
Hong Ran paid him no mind at all.
After her ’assault’ was complete, she finally said, "No, those are ultimately minor matters. There are far more troubles, and just thinking about them gives me a headache."
Hong Ran sounded quite helpless. "Sigh. Actually, I really don’t want to deal with any of this. I don’t even like interacting with people; I just love nature. Don’t you think nature is wonderful? Summer cicadas, winter snow... I just want to find a place I like and stay there quietly, have a few friends, visit each other’s homes, go for walks and talks. How comfortable would that be, right?"
"Then why don’t you?"
"There’s no choice!" Hong Ran blew on the bamboo leaf again; this time, it sounded a little better than her previous attempts. "Our world had a problem. It was going to be destroyed. We needed to survive, so we moved to your world. To be honest, this isn’t what I wanted. If it were up to me, I would have stayed in our original world, waited for the end of days, and seen what that final day would truly be like."
"If it really happened like that, it would have been worth it, don’t you think?" Hong Ran mused.
"But there was no choice," Hong Ran said. "So we came. You treat us as Invaders, but actually, we are far more gentle than you. We just want to survive. Even if many fierce and cruel Demons appeared later, there were always reasons."
"Did anyone stay behind in the original world?"
"Yes. Many. A great many, in fact."
"Who knows? Vanished, most likely." A complex emotion flickered in Hong Ran’s eyes. Such a pity for so many respectable figures.
"You must have had your reasons for not staying, right?"
"I followed His Highness here."
"Besides you, are there no others in charge?"
"There are. Plenty of them. They’re either lazier than me or stupider than me." Hong Ran smiled. "You’re very curious about our affairs, aren’t you?"
"Call me ’Big Sister’ a few more times, and I’ll tell you all about it."
Zhou Li felt a little embarrassed. He looked up at the sky; that sliver of a Yueya was also gradually moving westward.
Huai Xu told Zhou Li to go to his military training.
Zhou Li didn’t say much. He left early and, while sitting in Hong Ran’s car, said to Huai Xu, "Yesterday, Hong Ran mentioned she had someone look into your background. Let me relay what she found."
"And?" Huai Xu didn’t immediately press. "Does it sound alright?"
"Am I... the Demon King?"
"You killed many Demons and humans."
So Zhou Li briefly recounted it to him.
Huai Xu’s eyes widened. Staring at Zhou Li, he asked, "Are you really talking about me?"
"Why can’t I remember any of it? It’s like listening to a bard tell a tale."
"What did your psychologist say again?"
"Oh, right. That too."
"Did you pay your psychologist?"
"He doesn’t charge me."
"Why so many questions?" Huai Xu frowned. This guy is so annoying. "He just doesn’t, alright!"
The car stopped directly in front of the school gate.
It was still early. Zhou Li even went back to his dormitory for a bit, then headed to the cafeteria for a meal before joining his roommates on the way to the military training grounds.
He was observant and noticed his roommates occasionally stealing glances at him. Along the way, even people from the same company they encountered would often look his way.
Zhou Li looked at Huai Xu.
Huai Xu understood his unspoken question. He lowered his head and said, "I have something to tell you. Don’t get angry."
Then he quickly added, "Not that being angry would help anyway."
Seeing his reaction, Huai Xu understood. Right, Zhou Li is so smart; he probably guessed it long ago.
So he said, "I beat up the instructor."
You really know how to spring a surprise!
Huai Xu, on the other hand, was baffled. "Weren’t you already prepared for this?"
Zhou Li didn’t say a word.
Just then, Chen Yang, who was nearby, answered a call.
After hanging up, he said to Zhou Li, "Zhou Li, you’re wanted at the academic affairs office. Teacher Zhou Qianqian is looking for you."
Zhou Li nodded, turned, and walked back the way he came.